SUMMARY
- Jacob Fatu is a highly popular name in the professional wrestling world.
- Popularly referred to as the Samoan Werewolf, Fatu is one of the best heavyweight performers in the industry.
Jacob Fatu is a well-recognized name in professional wrestling and is among the rare heavyweight performers who can do some of the craziest moves inside the ring. Amid the skills he carries, Fatu has often gathered praise from the audience, which even includes fans of the biggest wrestling promotion in the world, WWE.
As Jacob has never performed in the Triple H-led promotion till date, having fans who are members of the WWE Universe is cool and shows the influence the Samoan Werewolf has made in the industry. But his mindset towards wrestling was not always the same, as an incident had a big impact on changing his mind about the industry.
As revealed by Jacob Fatu in an interview that has been going viral on social media, his mind about pro wrestling changed after watching one match while he was in jail. Moreover, it was not just any other match, as it was very special for him as it was a fight that had his family members.
Jacob Fatu details watching his family the Uso’s & Tamina being the reason he became a wrestler
Also talks spending time at Rikishi’s house when he was young pic.twitter.com/pQH3Qyus7j
— Slappa Wrestling (@Slappa_WWE) April 14, 2024
Talking about the whole incident, the 31-year-old public figure revealed, “I was 18, locked in, went to jail. For some crazy reason, every dorm has a TV. It so happens to be flipping through the channels, right, and who comes on my brother, The Usos.” “I will never forget it, they came out with Tamina,” he added while speaking further about Jey and Jimmy’s match.
Before talking about the match, Fatu stated that he never really wanted to be a wrestler while growing up, but watching this encounter while being behind bars was the moment after which he made his mind to follow in their footsteps and made a name for himself in the wrestling world. It is only the result of his hardwork and dedication that the in-ring star is now a popular name in the entire industry.
A look at Jacob Fatu’s pro wrestling career
Born on April 18, 1992, in California, United States, Jacob Fatu had pro wrestling in his blood because he was from the Anoaʻi family. But it wasn’t until he saw the match in jail that he decided to join the industry as a wrestler. Amid this, Fatu started getting trained by his uncle, Rikishi, and eventually made his debut in 2012 at 20 years of age.
During his debut match, he teamed up with Black Pearl in a winning effort, and it was the start of his spectacular journey as a performer in the pro wrestling world. After this, the Samoan Werewolf spent most of his time competing in California for independent promotions, in which he usually participated in tag team matches with fellow Anoaʻi family members.
In 2018, which was six years after his professional debut, Jacob made his first trip to Mexico for The Crash in a trio match, in which he ended up losing to Octagón and Blue Demon Jr. Even though he lost, this match gave him a bigger stage to showcase his talent, and he never looked back after this encounter.
After his Mexico trip in 2019, the 6-foot-1 in-ring star signed with Major League Wrestling, as he joined his relatives Samu and Samu’s son, Lance Anoaʻi, who were already well-established names in the organization. He made his debut for the company at MLW’s SuperFight event in February, alongside his tag team partner Josef Samael, in a non-televised match.
After this, they made their official televised debut on March 2, 2019, at the Intimidation Games, as they attacked the World Heavyweight Champion, Tom Lawlor, after his match with Low Ki. With this, they formed the heel-stable Contra Unit with Simon Gotch, and the following week, they attacked Ace Romero. After a long feud with Tom, the Samoan Fatu defeated him at the Kings of Colosseum to capture the World Heavyweight title.
In a rematch with the former champ, Jacob Fatu retained his title and then went on to headline MLW’s first-ever PPV Saturday Night SuperFight. On the show, he won his match against LA Park to retain the title. But in his next feud, which was against the National Openweight Champion, Alex Hammerstone, Fatu lost his title in a winner-take-all match.
After the end of his dominant victory, he started a feud with fellow Contra Unit members Madds Krügger and Ikuro Kwon, which resulted in Jacob’s face turn. Later, the Samoan Werewolf got victories against Krügger and had a feud with Bestia 666. To start his next title run, the 31-year-old defeated John Hennigan for the National Openweight Championship on April 6, 2023.
On January 13, 2024, at Battle in the Valley, the 6-foot-1 made his NJPW debut as he teamed up with Shota Umino and Fred Rosser in a winning effort against Team Filthy. On February 3, he defeated Yuji Nagata, and after the match, he was attacked by Mads Krule Krügger. It was on February 17, 2024, that he was defeated by Krügger, and it was his last appearance for the company.
Jacob Fatu has reportedly signed with WWE
Ever since February, Jacob’s in-ring future has been a topic of huge discussion, as the entire industry was curious to know what’s next for him. Many wondered if he’s going to join his family members in the Stamford-based promotion, and it seems like it is turning into a reality. The reason being that Jacob Fatu has reportedly signed with WWE.
As reported by various sources on April 7, 2024, the Samoan Werewolf has joined the biggest wrestling promotion in the organization by signing a deal. With this news, the industry has been left excited about his signing by the company, as his deal with the company could be a game changer for his professional career.
A lot of people believe that Fatu has everything that’s required to make it big in WWE, and if the promotion uses him to the best of his capabilities, he can become a mega star soon. In addition to the theories about his usage, something fans have been asking questions about is his involvement with The Bloodline.
Jacob Fatu is a tremendous signing for WWE. A big man with out of this world athleticism 💯 pic.twitter.com/CvdtB2099Z
— Dark Puroresu Flowsion (@PuroresuFlow) April 8, 2024
As Roman Reigns’ title reign ended at the hands of Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, changes were expected in the faction. But nobody would have thought that it would start at the first SmackDown after The Show of Shows. On the April 12 episode, Solo Sikoa seemingly took over the leadership role as he attacked Jimmy Uso, and Tama Tonga also joined his group by making his WWE debut.
With this, it seems like this story is going to go through a lot of twists and turns in the next few months, and Jacob Fatu might have a major role in it. But all this is only possible if the Triple H-led promotion gives him the opportunity to make his debut in the company. What exactly are Hunter’s plans for the Samoan Werewolf? It will be interesting to see, but will Fatu be able to win over the audience? Only time will tell.
